An Ardent Moonbeam
by CMCity
Summary: Written for the CCOAC's OC Challenge: "Penelope Garcia and Moonbeam Choo, the owner of a local bookshop". Meet Moonbeam, Penelope's secret friend and a surprise to everyone, including Penelope herself, on occasion...
1. Chapter 1

An Ardent Moonbeam

Moonbeam Choo was a lunatic. But he was so rich and wealthy, nobody dared call him that, not even behind his back. They used the term 'eccentric', instead.

As a youth, he was rebellious and nothing like his father or his grandfather, who had amassed huge fortunes through hard work and a cunning talent to exploit the corruptible souls of powerful men; first in Malaysia, and later on, in America. Moonbeam was forced by his family to go to business school, but wanted nothing to do with business, money, or responsibilities. Nonetheless, shortly before his graduation, he suddenly became the sole owner of all the family assets, after the private plane carrying his parents and grandparents crashed, killing everyone on board.

Charlie Choo - as he was known back then until he changed his first name to _Moonbeam_ - lived in New York and Washington, and very early on in life, developed a taste for sex, drugs, and rock'n roll, not necessarily in that order, but often simultaneously. From the age of sixteen and for the next thirty years, he probably had no more than a couple dozen sober days. His wild lifestyle amplified his irreverent and unconventional personality and did not contribute to sharpen his business skills.

During that period, several of his assets were stolen from him through the betrayals of his CEOs, lawyers, accountants, and other professionals who took advantage of his negligence. He did not care. By age 46, he remained a multi-millionaire still over-indulging in his whims and still having much too much fun for a stoned, drunk, and rapidly aging man. And that's when life caught up with Moonbeam Choo.

He woke up, one morning, in a fancy hospital room, unable to move the left side of his body. He had no memory of the most recent weeks, which he had spent in hospital after suffering from a major stroke, and during which he had gone through the unavoidable detox that the body goes through when one stops abusing it all at once. Luckily, he was unconscious for the first twenty days of his purging, and still too debilitated afterward to remember what his brain and body went through. He should have died, his doctors told him, but he didn't.

Instead, he struggled madly to regain some of the life that used to inhabit his body. He was incapable of movement in his left side and going through several months of rehabilitation, sober, proved to be mostly in vain. Oddly enough, his vivacity remained unaffected by his condition and his personality basically did not change after all his tribulations. His doctors diagnosed him with 'Emotional Incontinence' because of his frequent outbursts of laughter - but they had not known him _before_ the stroke.

So he retained his ardent and impulsive character despite his inability to match it with physical action. The man could barely move or walk around despite the best exoskeleton and 'bionic' equipment money could buy, so he was forced to slow down, literally and figuratively. His brush with death taught Moonbeam a lesson in moderation and moral rigor. With this newly gained perspective, he completely changed his lifestyle, gave up all his bad habits, and found a new peace - relatively speaking.

Over the next ten years of his life, Moonbeam Choo gradually returned to his earlier favorite activities, mainly one he used to enjoy before becoming a social butterfly: reading books. Books on history, science-fiction, Malaysian culture, and... criminology. He loved books, but also liked to collect them; for their artistic value, their age, or their distinctiveness. Suffering more and more from isolation, however, he began to seriously consider opening and running a bookstore, so he could meet people interested in the same things he was.

This is how, one day, while approaching Quantico with his chauffeur - riding in his Mercedes along the east coast and enjoying the scenery - Moonbeam was struck by the vibrant energy in the area. As they continued and drove through a quaint neighborhood, he instructed the driver to leave the main drive and explore the vicinity. He soon noticed some 'For Sale' signs on three commercial properties, all located on the same city block. As impulsive as ever, he decided to purchase the lots and buildings, already planning to open his own store and to buy more properties.

Over the next few years, the bad boy of Washington had become an investor in real estate and the proud owner of a "rare, old, and out-of-print editions" business. He found himself settling nearby, in a luxurious property in that pictorial area of Virginia, and continued to invest in the land. He quietly acquired more and more commercial and residential properties, so that he could control and choose his neighbors and the businesses next to his own.

The building he chose to house his bookstore was extensively renovated and secured to contain a retail store in the front part and his private collection - creating a museum of sort - in the back section. _The Collective_ sold books on Malaysia and the Far East, science-fiction and fantasy books, and crime novels or criminology texts. These eclectic subjects also included history books, his favorite topic.

True to himself, Moonbeam gradually replaced the retail stores nearby with an incense and essential oil business, a Peruvian fabrics and llama wool clothing store, a kites, flags, and maps shop, and other unusual small companies that one was not likely to find at every corner of the city. Even the couple of restaurants and the health centre/spa were unconventional. One exception might have been the coffee shop next door, the _Many Worlds Café._ Yet, exotic coffee beans and various preparations from all over the planet were sold at this café, making it different from the mundane pit stops most people were used to.

Moonbeam Choo was then 58 and, for the first time in his life, felt like he had found himself, and his real home. His handpicked - and odd - choices for residents combined with his unorthodox landscaping of ferns, monkey tail trees, palm trees, cacti... created a unique neighborhood. It attracted other free spirits and many 'wannabees' who, although would never have altered their conventional life, were happy to escape it and spend their time and money in this area for a while.

One Ms Penelope Garcia, technical analyst for the BAU, knew nothing of this miniature Shangri-La located just off her daily commute to the FBI Headquarters in Quantico, but on a sunny Saturday morning in June, luck led her to meet one of her dearest soul mates.

* * *

"SH...T! Double sh...t!"

Penelope Garcia was beginning to think that bad luck would follow her all day. She'd already been awaken by a call from Hotch at an ungodly hour on her first morning off in almost two weeks! She'd been told to show up to work ASAP because of a kidnapping. After finding out the hard way that her hot water tank was defective, she'd rushed to dress and set her hair and make-up, only to find that her fridge and cupboards were empty and she had nothing to grab for breakfast.

The line-up at her favorite coffee shop had delayed her about ten minutes, but she had been able to grab a bun and hot tall mocha. She had quickly escaped the crowded place only to trip on the uneven sidewalk and drop coffee and bun at her feet. They'd rolled off the curb and landed on a dirty sewer cover drain, causing her to swear out loud at her double loss.

She considered for a moment going back inside the shop, but the line-up was now twice as long as when she'd first arrived. Grumbling and muttering angry words to herself, she threw her purse on the front seat of her convertible, slammed the car door shut behind her, and sped off with a dark cloud of mad frustration following her.

Within minutes, her anger had lifted and hunger had returned to replace it. She was debating back and forth whether she should stop again, or give up and skip breakfast. Reasoning that she'd be much less dangerous to the rest of the team if she was fed - and soon! - she suddenly took a right, and another, thinking she'd go back her path and find some food at a nearby grocery shop.

Something caught her eye on the left, a splash of color or a large balloon, she wasn't sure, but she felt like heading in that new direction. That's when she first discovered Malacca Drive.

She thought she was dreaming or imagining things, but the shoppers and passersby looked very 'normal' to her. The decor, however, made her feel like she'd been transported to Indonesia or some tropical country. A couple of scantily clad street musicians singing under a palm tree and some food carts selling skewered meat and rice dishes were reminiscent of an exotic island, not the State of Virginia. The mirage was only as long as one street block, but she immediately fell under its charm.

She squealed with delight when she saw the sign: _Many Worlds Café_! Within minutes, she had a new tall coffee and some sort of mango pastry and she exited the place very slowly, carefully heading to her car. She was going to be late, but she would not rush this time, _not here_, not now.

As she stopped to bite into her pastry, the front window next door to the coffee shop grabbed her attention and she froze in surprise. A first edition of David Rossi's first book was on display, and other books on criminology were laid out next to it, along with a few European science fiction novels she'd never seen before. Rossi had just joined the team and she was curious to know more about him. She got closer and was distracted by a textbook on Malaysian culture and history dominating a circle of smaller publications on the Far East.

"Oh! Thank you, thank you!" she suddenly heard a man's voice next to her.

"Excuse me?" she asked, utterly puzzled.

The older Asian man was beaming at her and approaching her slowly, his left arm and leg trapped in black metallic braces that seemed robotized. As he hobbled toward her, he was gesturing with his good hand for her to come to him. He had a wide smile as he pointed to a security camera aimed at them.

"I tried to wear some colorful clothing today, but you are so much better at it than I am! You are a bird of paradise!" He looked at his dark red silk shirt and silver tie, and then at Penelope's lime green dress, yellow sweater, giant pink pearls, dark purple earrings and platform shoes, and the splashes of pink, yellow and green in her hair where she had set three bright feathers. Her glasses were adorned with mother-of-pearl nacre and blue rims.

"We just installed new _color_ security cameras yesterday and I wanted to try them, but you can help me with that, can't you?" he was getting next to her and turning slowly toward the camera.

"But, but, I am late! I must be going!" protested the confused woman.

"It won't take long, just turn around, here," and he gently posed for the camera, standing next to her with a big smile. "Thank you! You must come back so I can show you the picture!" and he slowly hobbled toward his store, leaving Penelope feeling relieved, but intrigued.

"I shall... return..." she muttered before taking a sip of her drink and continuing on her way.

* * *

Over the next four years, Penelope and Moon, as she nicknamed him, developed a close friendship. They were from different worlds, cultures, and generations, but they shared values and had other affinities that made them 'kindred spirits'. Anybody witnessing their enthusiasm for every topic of conversation they picked and changed within minutes could only listen and watch in awe.

Penelope's boyfriend, Kevin Lynch, was one of those who had tried to join in the joyful exchanges. He soon had resigned himself to just observing yet another facet of his love's personality. Moon tended to bring out the innocent, childlike, and silly side of the bright woman. They would both giggle, explode in laughter, or tease each other mercilessly, like a couple of youths out on a Friday night.

Penelope already had very close friends, mainly her 'family' at the BAU, with whom she could have laughter, private exchanges, and secrets. She could flirt with Derek, tease Spencer, take JJ as her confident, feel the admiration of a daughter for David Rossi, the affection of a sister for Emily, and share mutual respect and caring with Hotch. She felt protective of all, and they of her. She also passionately felt protective of Kevin. And more recently, Moon had joined her pack, under her umbrella.

Paradoxically, she and Kevin never talked about Moonbeam nor Malacca Drive with the BAU team. Whereas she was thrilled that Kevin with his Hawaiian shirts fitted right in, she felt that her law enforcing friends might worry about her friendship with the ex-jet setter, so she preferred not to mention her visits to his store.

She also secretly delighted in the fact that they had no idea who was her connection in the world of rare and out-of-print books she had offered them over the past few years. At birthdays and Christmas, she had the best gift ideas for each of the agents. They all assumed she was performing some of her cyberspace magic to find these precious gems. Reid was especially impressed with the kind of books she found for him. Heavy manuscripts he had never seen, let alone read!

She felt very proud of her latest choice for Spencer: a rare textbook on the history of crime-solving in Southern Asia, with the original pictures; a real work of art. His birthday was coming up and she had asked the whole team to chip in - the book was a bit pricey. Moon had promised that it would arrive in time, and when it did arrive a few days before the big celebration, she only had to figure out when she'd be able to stop by _The Collective_.

The team was away in Colorado and she was stuck at work during the day and coming home late at night all week. The bookstore was already closed by the time she made it there, so she decided to arrange with Moon a special pick-up time a bit later than his usual closing time.

On that Friday night, when Moon usually stayed open until 9:30 pm, she asked him to wait for her a bit longer. He was happy to oblige her. She was able to make it there a little after 10 pm.

Penelope was looking forward to the weekend: she had just learned that the team had finished the case and was planning to return the next morning. They would all meet on Sunday at JJ's place and surprise the birthday boy. She would bring the book, all wrapped up. Everything was going to work out fine.

She parked in front of the familiar store and noticed some light coming from the back room. Moon was in his private museum. She was about to knock at the door, but noticed that he had left if slightly ajar for her. She stepped in, announcing herself with the ding of the door bell and a cheerful call: "Moon?"

There was no response.

Penelope wondered if he was too busy or preoccupied to answer and entered gingerly before locking the door behind her. She expected him to be chatting on the phone, or surfing the web, but her reasoning could not calm the unease she felt growing inside as she walked toward the light of the back room.

"Moon? It's me, Penelope!" she called again.

She approached the door frame and peeked inside. She saw her friend standing in front of one of the book displays. His back was turned to her. Relieved, she walked in.

"Moon! You left the door open for me, so I came in. I hope-" she did not finish.

A man jumped from behind the door and grabbed her by the shoulders with a strong arm. He turned her back to rest against him. With his other hand, he pressed a knife against her neck.

"Do not move. Not a sound. Or you're dead. And your friend after you."


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

_Oh. God!_

Penelope could see the clean blade near her throat. It was long, cold, shinny. And the hand holding it was strong and steady. There was no hesitation in the voice coming from her aggressor. She could tell that he was quite tall; he also knew how to hold her so that she could not move and use any of her self-defense tricks she had learned from Morgan. She was holding her large shoulder bag in front of her, so her movements were not free.

She considered using her high heels on his shin or foot, but decided against a rash decision without a good plan to follow it. It was better to wait and find out what was going on. In the meantime, she played the terrified, shaky, and defenseless woman, so as to not arouse any suspicion from the man; he probably did not know who she was and who she was working with.

_He seems experienced. In what? Killing? Kidnapping? Robbing?_

A few feet in front of her and turning around slowly, Moonbeam Choo looked just as calm and determined as the 'bad guy'. Concern appeared on his face:

"I'm sorry, Pen. Are you alright? You are hurting her! You are scaring her!" he accused with an angry voice as he lambasted the man holding his friend. He was limping sideways to his left to get a better view and stand in front of his oak desk.

"She'll be fine, as long as she doesn't try anything funny. Now, back to you, Mr. Choo. Where is the book?"

_A book? He wants a book? 'Doesn't look like the reading type!_

Moon looked desperate. He was now leaning against his desk behind him. With a pleading tone, he answered that he did not have the volume in question.

"There's no need to lie, Choo. I know you received the delivery from Sotheby's today... Directly from Kuala Lumpur!"

_Okay, the book for Reid arrived a few days ago and _not _from Kuala Lumpur. So he's talking about another book!_

"I would not lie to you, sir. Look at me, look at my friend, we cannot oppose you in any way! Please allow me to take care of her, she looks very distressed. She could faint and hurt herself."

_I do? I could? Moon knows me: I am trying to look as non-threatening as I can until I figure out what to do next, but I don't feel faint. Unless..._

Penelope gave Moon a look that was both filled with partial understanding and inquiring.

_Really? You want me to give you a diversion? _

She wondered what he had in mind. Her old friend could not move very fast, he had no physical strength, and although his fancy black exoskeleton looked very 'cool' over his usual all black attire, it was nothing like the kind of bionic technology the _Six Million Dollar Man_ used to fight evil on TV, way back in the '70s.

He was lightly nodding his head, trying to appear as if he was just reinforcing his statements to the burglar.

Penelope was thinking as fast as she could in the circumstances:

_Moon knows I'm working on a new play these days, where I have to faint and fall on the floor. He knows I've been rehearsing falling down and looking convincing without hurting myself... I could do that, but then what? He can't do anything! And once I'm on the floor, I can't do anything to this creep! I might be able to reach my cell in my bag if the attention is off me, but that's IF I get to KEEP my bag..._

"Stop stalling, old man! I give you two seconds before I cut your friend!" The voice was cold and menacing. Moonbeam and Penelope believed the man would act on his threats unless one of them acted quickly.

_That's my cue, I guess!_ It would be easy to believe that the threat was scaring her enough to faint.

And so, with a fake whimper, Penelope let herself buckle at the knees, her weight dragging her down and allowing her to slip from her captor's grip. She fell at his feet, partially landing on her bag, her face hitting the floor a little harder than she had planned, but she wanted it to look realistic. It was worth a bruise on the cheek and lower jaw.

She almost cursed when she heard her glasses bounce off her nose and hit the ground a couple more times, but her attention quickly returned to Moon and their assailant when she realized something odd was happening.

Moonbeam had not wasted a second when he saw Penelope slowly drop to the floor. He, too, acted terrified and suddenly backed away from the man so that he hit the edge of his desk and fell backward on top of it.

The aggressor hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should try to hold on to the falling woman, or move on to the falling man. Then he realized that Moonbeam was raising his good arm and reaching over to open the top side drawer, using the momentum of his backward fall to help him reach that far behind him. He rushed to close in on the cunning man, but Penelope tangled up her feet with his and he momentarily lost his balance.

He still lunged forward to loom over the paralyzed man with his knife and found himself staring down the barrel of an antique revolver, held by a very confident-looking, although very uncomfortable because still supine, Moonbeam Choo.

"Drop the knife!" he ordered, sounding as serious and mean as he could muster it. Moonbeam had never hurt a fly in his life, but tonight, he was glad he had taken shooting lessons and knew how to use his weapon.

He had purchased the gun twenty years ago to participate in a reenactment of the Civil War; a few friends had dragged him into it, once. Although it had been fun to act as an extra - an ordinary Union soldier - and dress up in uniform, he had not really enjoyed the concept of battles and war. He had kept his antique handgun, though, and learned how to use it, just in case. Today, he felt rewarded for his foresight and persistence at keeping it nearby all these years.

Just one thing, however: the gun was empty. It was too complicated to load the thing and even potentially dangerous to keep it loaded, so he kept it clean and close by, but nothing more. He dearly hoped that the man staring him down with a knife was not suspecting anything.

"Where did you find that toy? You think you can scare me with that thing?" the tall man was almost laughing at the sight of Moonbeam holding a gun at him, but Moonbeam had his own acting talents and courage. He remained focused on the role he had to play.

"This is an old, but still very dangerous weapon... Would you like a demonstration?" the old man answered without losing his threatening affect, and he moved the gun downward to aim at the man's crotch, which stood only a short distance away from the end of his barrel.

The daring move made the man jump back a little, suddenly aware that if the gun was real, and if it went off, he might not die but probably wish he did.

During the quick exchange, Penelope had grabbed her phone out of her bag under her and dialed 9-1-1. As the operator answered, she gave her name and status at the FBI, and requested a police unit to be sent immediately to the store.

The thief threw a surprised look in her direction. She was still lying on the floor, but staring back at him with the same determination she had seen in her friend's eyes a moment ago. She could see that the man was tempted to make a move toward her, but as he took his attention away from Moon, the old man pulled himself up from the desk, using his right leg as a lever against the front of the desk.

"Drop the knife, now!" ordered Moonbeam, once again, still aiming the gun at the man's genitals. They were still very close to one another, but again, the threat was too immediate for the tall stranger to attempt anything. He finally gave up and dropped his knife at his feet.

Penelope got up from the floor, still on the phone with the dispatcher. "Keep your attention on him, Moon; he can still try to pull a fast one on us!"

The man's frustrated look told the friends that she had accurately read his mind.

Not breaking eye contact with the intruder, Moon just nodded calmly and signaled him with his gun to back up a little further away from him. Penelope promptly moved to kick the knife out of reach and stand next to Moon, never turning her back to the dangerous man.

"Now, tell me who sent you. I don't believe you know anything about the book you came for." Moonbeam's voice was hard and angry.

"No one. I just know it's worth a lot," dismissed the man.

"Liar! I know who sent you, even if you don't. He was competing with me during the auction. He drove the price much higher than either one of us had initially planned to pay for that book." Moon sounded more and more furious with every word. "And now, after costing me tens of thousands of dollars, that dirty dog sends an armed man to threaten me in my own office! And threaten my friend!"

Penelope was suddenly worried. Moon looked like he was about to shoot the guy in his private parts, out of rage alone! His hand was shaking with fury and his eyes were ablaze with intensity.

She knew the older man was very passionate and his mood highly changeable, but she always thought he was too gentle to ever harm anyone. However, she had never seen him so angry before and his brain damage might lead him to lose his inhibitions when angry; she could not risk it. Although she didn't care if the creep now holding his hands up in the air never got to have romantic encounters again or pee standing up, she didn't want her friend to lend in jail just because the old revolver happened to have a sensitive trigger.

"Moon? Why don't you make him lie on the floor, on his front side, hands over his head while we wait for the police to get here?" she suggested.

"Tell me who hired you!" Moon was still trembling and focusing his wrath on the man who was now gulping uneasily.

"I'm going to lie down on the floor," he offered mildly in response and started to move slowly, but Moon stopped him.

"Don't move!" he yelled, furious.

"Moon, my friend, please listen to me!" pleaded the troubled woman at his side. "You don't want to hurt him, believe me! He's not worth the trouble!"

"I'm not worried: we could say he attempted to jump on me to grab my gun!" said Moon with relish.

"I'm too far away from you, no one would believe that story!" protested the worried man who took another couple of steps away from the gun.

"Or, we could say that he tried to run away, or grab a weapon nearby..." Moon's creative juices were running wild as his face looked more and more maniacal.

"I'm on my knees! I can't be a threat to you!" cried the man, kneeling down quickly as he spoke, his face turning to a pale shade of virgin white snow.

Penelope's own color was also becoming ghostly, but she tried once again to shake her friend out of his frantic mood.

"Moonbeam Choo! If you do not regain control of yourself right now and listen to me, I'm going to get pretty pissed off!" She was trying to sound menacing and was partly successful, but she could not hide the distress in her voice.

The sound of sirens approaching from a distance began to filter through the front store area.

"It's the police, Moon! You can relax!"

As the sound was getting stronger, Penelope and the man on the floor both held their breath. Moonbeam had stopped shaking and was not moving except for his erratic eye blinking.

After a minute that felt so much longer, the sounds of a car and sirens stopping abruptly, car doors slamming, and finally the tinkle of the door bell announced the arrival of law enforcement officers. Everyone released a sigh of relief, including the criminal.

"Over here, officers! At the back!" called Penelope.

The minute the officers showed up with their guns drawn in front of them, Moonbeam dropped his arm heavily.

"Thank you!" he said tiredly. He was not sure how much longer he'd be able to maintain the act.

Penelope quickly identified herself, showing her credentials and explaining the situation to the officers. They retrieved the knife, handcuffed the shell-shocked thief, and took Moon and Penelope's brief depositions.

As the officers were finally leaving, Penelope's phone rang.

"It's Kevin! He was expecting me home by now!" Penelope took the call and reassured her boyfriend, promising to tell him the whole story once she got home. She then caught up with Moonbeam who was thanking the officers one last time.

He had been talking to them during the phone call and was pleased to learn that the thief, on his way to the car, had given out the name of the man who had hired him - once he was out of ear-shot from Moonbeam Choo. The cops were impressed with Moonbeam's 'convincing' ability to make the man confess, after the fact!

"It's all in the way you hold your gun, sir. My revolver wasn't loaded, so I had to be persuasive enough while we waited for your arrival!"

"Your gun wasn't LOADED?" gasped Penelope as she approached them.

"I'm sorry I acted so... Well, I didn't mean to scare you, Pen, but I had to make sure that guy wasn't going to try anything."

Penelope was still stunned. "Have you ever considered acting?" she asked him, bewildered. Moon burst out in laughter.

"Actually, in my previous life, I did do a little bit of acting. Went to study in New York... I'll tell you that story one day, but now, we need to get you your book for your friend!"

Moonbeam hobbled slowly back into the store, looking frail and exhausted, but with a very cheerful spirit. Penelope was about to ask him about this other book, the hugely expensive book he had bought in the auction, the one which could have cost them their lives... Then she felt too tired to care. She decided to keep that story, too, for another day.

* * *

**Voilà. A short TWO-SHOT. Hope it was as fun for you as it was for me. It was definitely different from my usual stories, but that's what a challenge is all about, isn't it? Let me know your thoughts!**


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